American Exceptualism Rudy
Giuliani was espousing his opinion to Fox News that Barack Obama did not
love America and didn’t brag enough about “American Exceptionalism.”

Fur Is Not Chic When my 25-pound
dog stepped in a toothed steel leg hold trap a few ft off the trail, I
learned how “unchic” fur is. I had to carry her out two miles to get to a
vet.

Which Is More Dangerous? Just
a couple of thoughts I had in response to the letters by Gordon Lee
Dean and Jarin Weber in the Feb. 23 issue. Mr. Dean claims that there
have been zero deaths from the measles in the past ten years.

Real Action on Climate In
“Climate Madness” in the Feb. 9 issue, the writer points out that
scientists are all but unanimous and that large numbers of people agree:
global warming poses a threat to future generations.

Real Science Wolfgang
Pauli, the Nobel Prize winning Austrian-born theoretical physicist, was
known not only for his work in postulating the existence of the
neutrino but feared for his razor-edged humor.

They?re Honored: Raising a village ? one sidewalk at a time

Theyre Honored: Raising a village  one sidewalk at a timeBy Danielle HorvathThey say it takes a village to raise a child. So what does it take toraise a village? Thats the question being asked in Honor, a hamlet ofless than 300 people just a stones throw from Platte River in BenzieCounty. Long-known as a sportsmens paradise  in 1999, it was votedMichigans top outdoor sports town by Sports Afield Magazine  Honor hasfallen a victim of the economy and is suffering from rural blight, withempty storefronts, closed businesses, and abandoned buildings.Doing something about it is Shantel Sellers, who grew up in Honor andreturned home last year to the house once owned by her family afterserving in the military, getting married and having three children.I have the best memories of growing up in Honor and we decided we wantedto raise our family here, she says. We have travelled through many smalltowns that are doing well and they all face challenges like we have here.If we can bring people together and provide a place for them to voicetheir concerns, their ideas, where we can work together on common goals,real change can and does happen.

TAKING ACTIONLast year, a grass roots effort started when Sellers and a small group ofresidents went to the village council with concerns and ideas forimprovements. Within a few months, they formed the non-profit group HARP(Honor Area Restoration Project.) They were able to secure a grant fromRotary Charities to begin the process of bringing the community togetherto consider some long and short term goals to help restore Honor to thebustling, vibrant village it once was, while protecting the natural areathat surrounds it.In April, the HARP group and the Village of Honor held the first of aseries of Envision Honor Community Vision Workshops which broughttogether over 160 people who spent time brainstorming ideas, sharingconcerns and thoughts that could help to revitalize the town. Frompreserving the history of the area, to encouraging informed growth anddevelopment to improving streetscapes and organizing paint blitzes, therewas no lack of ideas.Sellers says the support for their first community workshop surpassed allour expectations, and it was overwhelmingly positive.

BIG HURDLESSellers admits to the many challenges involved in any revitalizationeffort and many feel a sense of being overwhelmed and many people areconcerned that their taxes will be raised to pay for the efforts.That is an absolute detriment to any revitalization effort, she says. We are in a very fragile economy that is service-based and seasonal; thelast thing anyone wants is higher taxes.We are working to coordinate benefits, fund-raisers, volunteers, grants,etc., and increase the tax base through attracting new residents and morebusinesses, she adds. We have a USDA grant to extend the sidewalk fromdowntown to the shopping plaza, which is a great starting point to makeHonor a walking community, MDOT will be working on US 31 this summer withhighway improvements. Last summer, the township donated space for a skatepark that was built with all donated materials and a small army ofvolunteers. Its all about small steps that add up to big improvements.

The HARP group meetings are the first Thursday of every month and open toanyone interested. For more information, check them out online:www.RestoreHonor.org.